Market Entry Support for McColgan’s Quality Foods in the Netherlands

Project: Market Entry Support for McColgan’s Quality Foods in the Netherlands

Sector: Food & Beverage

Country/Region Served: The Netherlands

Challenge:

Following Brexit, the distribution of British food products into the EU became significantly more complex. McColgan’s Quality Foods identified an opportunity to serve the Dutch expat market via Northern Ireland routes, but lacked direct access to relevant distributors and retail channels in the Netherlands. Earlier outreach efforts from Ireland had yielded little response. The objective was to identify and engage suitable distributors and specialised retailers serving the UK/Irish expat segment in the Netherlands, and establish an initial commercial traction.

Services Provided:

PSPS Business Abroad designed a targeted, in-market approach focused on the expat food ecosystem. Specifically, it:

Mapped specialised wholesalers and retailers serving British and Irish communities.
Identified alternative routes to market via national distributors of Irish products.
Developed a concise market-facing company profile (EN/NL) to support outreach.
Conducted direct, local outreach leveraging network and market credibility.
Qualified leads based on portfolio fit, positioning, and willingness to onboard new suppliers.

This approach deliberately avoided broad retail entry and focused instead on niche channels with higher conversion potential.

Outcome:

Eighteen (18) targeted companies approached, eight (8) companies expressed interest and three (3) specialised retailers placed initial orders, including:

Kelly’s Expat Shopping – leading importer and distributor of British and Irish groceries
Taste of Ireland – importer focused on Irish products with national reach
A Taste of Home – retailer targeting the British expat community

Testimonials:

“I am really encouraged with the options in Netherlands and have even discovered a preferred route to market, i.e. national distributors of other Irish products such as Taste of Ireland.”

William McColgan, CEO McColgan’s